The AIDS epidemic was a huge crisis during the 1980's around the world in places such as New York City,Toronto, and Haiti. The first event to start the era of LGBT rights was the Stonewall raid in 1969. This was a violent attack on a queer bar in Toronto, Canada. Ten years later, the first documented cases of the disease begins in Haiti. On February 5th, 1981, there was another raid in Toronto but this one involved four different club areas and arrest the most amount of citizens in the era. All over the nation, gay activist groups began to rise and support the community by trying to spread the news. At first, the world though this disease was a cancer just for homosexuals. More people began dying and nobody knew why or how to stop it. In 1982, it was discovered that it in a virus in the blood and not only gays had it, a good amount of immigrants from countries like Haiti carried it as well. This changed the way they looked at the disease now that the world knew anyone could get it. In 1984, an American doctor found the HIV virus that causes AIDS. Around this time, the death rates and cases are almost doubling and they realize Africa is a victim to this disease as well. In 1985, AIDS finally reaches mainstream media when the Ronald Reagan mentions it for the first time publicly. This is also the same year that "The Normal Heart" begins in theaters. Two years later, the first drug to treat AIDS is AZT, but it is NOT a cure. The world then begins to count more death tolls and begins to create more awareness for the epidemic. Fast forward to 1997, there is an estimated 22 million people who are infected with the HIV virus in the world. Now, the majority of people infected with the disease are gay or bisexual men. It is not the leading cause of death for young people anymore, but it is still very apparent in our society. There is no cure yet, but there are drugs that help deal with the side effects and strengthen the immune system of those infected. It is not so much of a stigma to talk about this epidemic, there are many ways to spread knowledge and encouragement to get tested.